Under Cover of Night
by ellie gilmore
Summary: Night has always provided them the security to be together. In the light of day they pretend like nothing has happened. Can a sad case open their eyes to what they really want?


**Hey you guys! This idea has been hunting me for quite some time now. Originally I wanted to make it a multi-chap fic, but due to my lack of time and patience right now I decided to make it a oneshot. Maybe sometime in the future I might give it a shot if it awakes enough interest. **

**I would love to hear your thoughts about this OS, so please review!**

**Oh, and before I forget it: Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I would, Tony and Ziva would long since be together.**

**And now enjoy a little Tiva fluff :)**

**TIVA**

_**Under Cover of Night**_

He knew she was close. He could tell by the way her eyes slowly rolled into her head, with her lids closing and her hands gripping his upper arms so tight that he was sure her nails were going to leave their marks in his flesh. He increased his movements, faster and harder, just as she demanded with her voice shaking, almost gasping. His breathing grew more erratic, along with hers. She began calling his name, almost a whisper at first, growing louder, more demanding with each thrust. He soon joined her calling, saying her name. He loved the way her name sounded, the way it rolled off his tongue like she was the only woman in the world to him. Under cover of night he allowed himself to admit that she was the most precious thing on earth, that she was everything to him. Under cover of night, he could pretend she was his. Under cover of night he was able to love her.

"Look at me" he demanded, though his voice and eyes were gentle. He watched as she forced her eyelids open and immediately dark brown, almost black eyes locked onto dark green ones. Even if they would have wanted to, neither of them would have been able to tear away their gazes now.

"Tony" she gasped and he knew she was almost there. His right hand moved to touch the side of her face in an intimate gesture, and with his eyes never leaving hers, he entwined the fingers of her right hand with his left one.

"Let go" he whispered, then leaned down to kiss her gently. And then, with two more thrusts, they came together, calling each others names as they rode out their pleasure, with eyes still locked. It took a few moments for them to calm down and even then Tony didn't leave the top of her body.

They both knew something had shifted between them. Of course, it never had been _just sex_ between them. They had always been attracted to each other, had known they were compatible in some way or other. But tonight, with them looking into each others eyes, something had changed. And Tony knew in his heart that it would never be the same again. He knew that they would never again be able to have _just sex_ in the middle of the night. No, when – and _if_ – they had sex again, they would be making love to each other. It would have a meaning.

When their breathings returned back to a normal rating Tony rolled off her, lay down on his back and pulled Ziva into his side. She immediately adjusted to her new position, throwing on leg over his and using the crook of his shoulder as her pillow. His arm sneaked around her waist, pulling her even closer and then he intertwined his other hand with hers on his chest.

He was afraid of what would happen when one of them finally broke the silence between them. He was afraid of losing her, of losing what they had. Even if it was a secret never to be told, and even one they themselves never talked about, he had found himself more and more looking forward to their shared nights. It was usually him who went to see her. But tonight...

He looked around in his bedroom, and he knew, by letting her into his apartment, his sanctuary, for the first time since this started all those months ago, he had opened the door to something he wasn't entirely sure he was ready for or if he would be able to handle it at all. The sex he could handle. Them being just partners in the light of day when they were so frequently lovers under cover of night he could handle.

But could he handle _more_?

Her movements pulled him from his thoughts and he watched as she untangled herself from his body and sat up. His hand found hers again and for a moment they both looked at their joined hands. He wondered if she felt it, too.

It was him who broke the silence.

"Where are you going?" he asked, his voice a little shaky.

She smiled softly at him and her thumb caressed the back of his hand. "Bathroom." With that she stood up and left the room. He watched her retreating form, and even when she was gone from his line of view his eyes never left the door. Only when he heard the bathroom door closing he let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

His heart beat rapidly and he felt like a rock lay in his stomach. He didn't know what to do with those new feelings. Feelings he had been able to suppress – until now. But he wasn't sure if he even wanted do bury them again. He hoped – he _knew_ – she had felt the shift between them.

The question was: Were they going to do something about it?

**TIVA**

She was gone when he awoke at the crack of dawn. He wouldn't have expected anything else; and yet, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. But that was just how it worked between them: he would enter her apartment after midnight, when everything was already quiet and dark, except the small light on her nightstand, and he would find her laying in her bed, reading a book while waiting for him. They would do it, in silence and in darkness, and then he would allow himself to sleep a few hours, all the while holding her tightly against his body, only to leave just before she would wake up around 0500 to get ready for her run.

Last night, she had beat him to it. She had let herself into his apartment, just as he was getting ready to leave. He had been surprised to see her, but the sudden contact of her lips on his didn't allow him to ask any questions. And that was just it: he wasn't _supposed_ to ask questions. A little voice in the back of his head had reminded him of that fact and so he just did what he was expected to. With their lips never losing contact and both their hands busy getting rid of each others clothes he slowly dragged her towards his bedroom.

And here he was, wondering what had happened, what that meant and what was to come.

He was sipping his second cup of coffee when Ziva arrived at work, and he couldn't help but staring at her as she dropped her backpack next to her desk and put her weapon into the top drawer of her desk. She was beautiful, with her hair let down, her discreet make-up that accentuated her dark eyes and the plain black long sleeve he had seen her wearing so many times.

Her manner gave nothing away, it never did. But when their eyes met he knew she felt it too. Her eyes never shut up, they where the key to her soul. He could read everything in them.

Ziva broke their eye contact before they could give anything away. Instead she turned to Tim to wish him a good morning with that beautiful radiant smile of hers.

He was slightly envious that he wasn't on the receiving end of that smile, at least not at work. He suddenly felt the urge to punch Tim for getting the smile from Ziva and being able to act so carelessly and relaxed around her. Tony always tried his best to do so as well, and he probably did a good job, but on the inside he always felt on edge. Like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to say. It never came.

So he was glad when Gibbs rushed into their bullpen, barking "grab your gear", and after grabbing his own things he went straight towards the elevator, with his team right behind him.

"Where are we going, Boss?" Tim asked and Gibbs began to fill them in about their new case.

"Norfolk" Gibbs explained without turning around and his eyes firmly locked at the switching numbers above the elevator doors. "Dead Petty Officer. We'll know more when we get there."

**TIVA**

Petty Officer Melinda Smith had been killed with three bullets into her chest, just where her body had been found.

"Three bullets, right into her heart" Ducky observed while he waited for the liver thermometer to beep. When it did, he told them that the women had been killed around midnight the night before. "I'll know more when I have her home."

Gibbs nodded and turned to Ziva, who was typing something into her PDA, and looked up when she felt Gibbs' eyes on her. Without needing to prompt her she explained that the man who had found her was Petty Officer David Yoxall. He and Melinda had been coworkers and good friends.

"When did he find her?" Gibbs asked and started writing down the information Ziva gave him.

"Shortly after six" Ziva said. "Told me he picked her up every morning for work."

Gibbs nodded. "Alright. Try to get his fingerprints and DNA. Then find out if the neighbors heard or saw something. Take DiNozzo." Ziva nodded, then turned to find Tony while Gibbs joined Tim who was currently marking the evidence and taking pictures.

"Petty Officer, would you mind me taking your fingerprints and a DNA sample?" Ziva asked quietly, but still her voice left no room for discussing. The man was devastated, she could tell. He must have really cared about the dead woman.

"Why?" he asked clearly confused.

"Routine" she explained calmly. "If you have nothing to hide there is nothing for you to worry about."

Yoxall shook his head. No, he hid nothing. He was just grieving for a very good friend. "Why would someone do that?" He asked quietly, his voice rough, as he watched Ziva scanning his fingerprints.

"We'll find out" Tony assured him. "Had Petty Officer Smith any enemies?"

Yoxall laughed hollow. "Melinda? No, everyone loved her. She was sweet, kind to everyone. She was so empathic and always wanted to help the people around her...I honestly cannot imagine someone hating her."

"Okay, open your mouth, please" Ziva said and when the Petty Officer did as told, she took a swab and then marked it.

"Alright, this will be all for now" Tony said when he finished taking notes. Then he handed Yoxall one of his cards. "If you remember something, anything, call me."

The Petty Officer nodded and Tony and Ziva left for their interviews with the neighbors.

"He seemed to really like her" Tony stated after a few moments of walking in silence.

"He did" Ziva confirmed. Her voice showed no emotion and Tony didn't risk turning around and looking into her eyes. Her eyes that always told the truth. He was afraid of what he would find in them, or what he wouldn't find, especially after last night.

"You think he has something to do with that?"

Ziva shook her head. "No, I do not think so."

There was silence again between them. That was not unusual. Silence between them had rarely been uncomfortable. But right now, it kind of was. And he didn't like it at all. Because it meant that something indeed had changed.

His thoughts were interrupted by Ziva ringing the bell at a neighbor's house and with that their busy morning continued.

The bullpen was empty when Tony and Ziva returned to NCIS shortly after lunch. They had picked up burritos for all of them and they decided to take their break now while it was still quiet. Tony tried to make eye contact a few times but Ziva's eyes stayed firmly locked on her screen and finally with a sigh he gave up. He had no idea how to handle this new development.

Gibbs and Tim returned from questioning Smith's CEO a few hours later. The man had just confirmed what they already knew. Aside from making a trip down to Abby's lab they spent the rest of the work day at their desks, tossing ideas around the bullpen as to how Petty Officer Melinda Smith could have possibly deserved such an end.

They came up empty handed and by the time it was six o'clock they had nothing. Without Abby and Ducky's results they could do nothing and by seven Gibbs finally relented and sent them home.

Ziva was gone before Tony even had a chance to grab his backpack. He stared at the closing elevator doors and not for the first time that day he wondered if she was avoiding him. She had hardly even talked to him aside from things concerning their case. And now when he thought about it...he couldn't remember making real eye contact with her either. Not that he hadn't tried to.

"Something wrong? DiNozzo?" Gibbs pulled him from his thoughts.

Tony looked up at his boss, but the man was still reading some file. "I don't know" he answered honestly.

Finally Gibbs looked up and watched his Senior Field Agent over the edge of his glasses. He studied him for a moment and Tony resisted the urge to squirm under his boss' scrutinizing eyes. He could tell that Gibbs could tell something was indeed up. He just hoped his boss wouldn't sense the reason for his puzzled mind.

"Go home" Gibbs said finally. "Get a good night's rest."

"I will. You too." Tony stood up and turned to leave. "Night, Boss."

Gibbs just nodded in response and then Tony was gone.

**TIVA**

She needed a break.

Last night had been...intense, to say the least. There were so many emotions inside her, emotions that were foreign to her. Emotion she only had allowed to come up under cover of night. Ziva had suppressed her feelings in order to protect herself. And she felt like she had done a pretty good job with hiding them those last months. But today had been hard. She could hardly talk to Tony let alone look at him and so she settled for professional and distant. Those were two adjectives that hadn't fitted them from day one. There had always been that special connection between her and Tony. They hadn't known personal space from the beginning. It had always been like they were two opposite poles of two magnets that were pulled together. They just had never acted on it.

But one night, all those months ago, they had let it happen. She tried to remember that day. Early fall...they'd had wrapped up a pretty heavy case that day that had them all left emotionally drained. The four of them – Tony, Ziva, Abby and Tim – had ended up in a bar. She remembered that Abby had been drunk pretty quickly and Tim had offered to take her home. What had left her and Tony behind. Alone. With them, with their thoughts. They had hardly talked most of the evening, each of them lost in their thoughts. They had had a few more drinks, and with each drink they had stared longer and deeper into each others eyes. And even if she would've wanted to, that evening she found it truly impossible to stop herself from drowning in his deep green eyes. Green eyes she knew by heart by now.

They had shared a cab and somehow they both ended up at Ziva's apartment.

It was difficult for her to remember the rest of the night, everything had happened in a blur; then, and it still was now. But she did remember waking up the next morning to an empty bed. And she did remember how she felt then: disappointed; sad. It was when she knew that nothing would ever be the same again between them.

Tony had shown up at her apartment a week later, in the middle of the night. She didn't know how long they had stared at each other, but when he had taken those two steps forward, cradling her face between his hands, and staring deeply into her eyes before kissing her feverishly she knew for sure that this wasn't going to be the last time. This night they'd had sex completely sober, fully conscious of their actions. It had continued that way ever since.

But yesterday something had changed, again. She had noticed when Tony suddenly had cupped the side of her face ever so gently and intertwined their hands in an intimate way, asked her to look at him. Suddenly it hadn't been just sex anymore. Suddenly, they had made love.

And it scared her to death. How was she going to handle this new development? Was she even ready for it? She could handle their... whatever they had... under cover of night. But would she be able to handle it in the light of day?

Tony didn't show up this night. She had waited until almost two, then finally gave in to exhaustion and fell into a restless sleep which contained of tossing and turning and having funny dreams about Tony. The next morning she remembered all of her dreams but most vividly the one that woke her up right before her alarm clock went off. Them, together in her bed, making love and then suddenly, he was gone and she remembered feeling so lost and scared and vulnerable.

When she reached up to wipe a hand over her face she felt tears running down her face. She stared at her hand, and then at the empty side of her bed. _His side._ It shouldn't be empty.

_I miss him_, she realized. But what was she going to do about it?

**TIVA**

Their case took an unexpected turn when Ducky declared that Petty Officer Melinda Smith had been pregnant. By the time of her death she had been about eight weeks along.

"Do you know who the father is?" Gibbs asked, but already had a feeling.

"I not, but Miss Sciuto might have the results of the DNA test by now" Ducky told his friend with a small smile and watched as Gibbs as always left without another word.

Gibbs visit with Abby confirmed his feeling and after her update he rejoined his team in their bullpen.

"DiNozzo, Ziva, get Petty Officer Yoxall here" he ordered and his voice left no room for any questions as he went directly on with directions for Tim. "McGee, check Yoxall's phone calls for any frequently made or taken calls or something unusual."

"On it, Boss" Tony and Tim said in unison and a minute later Tony and Ziva were gone and Tim was typing away on his computer, while Gibbs took the stairs to see Director Vance.

**TIVA**

The silence between them was even more uncomfortable than the day before. Neither of them dared to break it for fear it might lead to a conversation neither of them was ready for. So it stayed quiet between the two partners until they returned to the Navy Yard and took their places in Observation to watch their boss question Yoxall, a grieving man who suddenly had become a suspect.

Turned out their assumption about Yoxall being innocent was true after all. At the news that Melinda Smith had been pregnant with his baby he burst into tears, unable to stay controlled, his grief finally getting the better of him. It took a few minutes until he was able to compose himself, then admitted that he and Melinda had slept together, many times, but never had been in a relationship. It had just been sex, no more, no less.

Tony's heart stopped at the man's confession and subconsciously his eyes darted to Ziva's lower abdomen. Ziva noticed and all of the sudden their eyes locked. They couldn't turn away even if they tried.

"You loved her" they heard Gibbs state sympathetically, but they didn't turn to watch the events in Investigation. They were too busy searching each others eyes for answers. Answers that were not yet there.

There was silence and all they heard for seconds was the beating of their hearts.

Yoxall had his eyes locked on the table, but looked up at Gibbs' statement. Slowly he nodded, looking him dead in the eye. "And I never told her."

**TIVA**

_I never told her._

Yoxall's words haunted Tony the rest of the day. This evening it was him who fled out of the office before anyone could even start to get ready to leave. He didn't care. He needed to get out of there, do something to get his mind off the events of the day. Minutes later he got into his car and started heading into the general direction of his apartment. He wasn't really paying attention to where he was driving and half hour later he found himself on the highway that led rural. Soon he was the only one left on the streets of Virginia.

_I never told her._

Not for the first time since he had heard Yoxall so remorsefully admit that, he felt like he had to do something before it was too late. They had a dangerous job. Anything could happen anytime. They could leave with four team mates for a crime scene in the morning and could return in threesome with the body of one of them in tow in the evening. Tomorrow it could already be too late.

But he was scared. What if she rejected him? Though he was nearly 100 percent sure she wouldn't. Not if he had interpreted the look in her eyes right.

Tony replayed all the events leading up to the other night. The first night they had made love. He realized it was inevitable. They had been partners for so long now. They trusted each other with their lives. They had this special connection. They had just never acted on it.

That had to change. Before it was too late.

He slammed on the breaks and turned the car in the middle of the street, and at full throttle he returned to DC, this time knowing exactly where he was heading to.

**TIVA**

Ziva had avoided going home as long as possible. Remembering the emptiness of her apartment from last night, the silence, she really didn't want to be there right now. She was frustrated, angry at Tony for not showing up and angry at herself for having become so dependent on his nightly visits. That, and the events of the day left her desperate to release some of the tension, the anger, to blow of some steam. She needed to be able to think clear again. So she did the one thing that she knew would help her calm down. Instead of heading down to the garage, she exited the elevator at the gym's floor, changed into her workout clothes and then began punching the bags as if her life depended on it. Soon she lost track of time, and pearls of sweat began running down her face and for the first time in days she allowed herself to let some tears fall down from her eyes, safely hidden by sweat drops.

She hated crying, she never did. But combined with working out she had to admit she felt better afterwards. She felt more calm than she had since before she had shown up at Tony's apartment the other night. She felt like she was finally able to think straight again.

That was when for first time since that morning she began analyzing what she heard Yoxall saying earlier in investigation.

He had never told her that he loved her. They had had sex almost every night, but had managed to stay just friends and coworkers. He had gotten her pregnant and known nothing about the child. She remembered Tony's eyes darting down to her lower abdomen when they had learned about Smith's pregnancy. They both knew that _this_ could easily become them. That she, Ziva, could get pregnant with Tony's child.

_Pregnant._

Ziva took a deep breath. That scenario was all too possible to happen. Wordlessly they had always relied on her birth control pills. Unconsciously she cupped her abdomen with her hands in a protective gesture. She knew that there was no child for she had just finished her period. But still. What would she do if that happened to her? Would she be scared? _Definitely._ Would she keep it? Ziva stared at herself in the mirror. Keep it? Keep Tony's child? _Tony's child._ Half her, half him. A small smile appeared on her face, a smile that reached her eyes.

_Definitely._

_I never told her._

The words echoed in her head and she finally realized that she couldn't let that happen to them. They knew how they felt about each other. They had known all along. Now they just needed to act on it.

Suddenly she was in a hurry, and wanting to get home as soon as possible, she skipped the shower, grabbed her bag and was out of the gym and at her car within minutes.

Just as she started her car it occurred to her that she couldn't count on Tony being or showing up at her place and without further ado she changed her destination. She reached Tony's apartment building in no time with her driving even more deadly than usual, and she couldn't help but laugh as she imagined Tony's reaction to it. _You're gonna kill us one day with that driving of yours._ She could hear Tony's voice in her head loud and clear and her smile only grew. Shaking her head in amusement she quickly took the stairs up to Tony's apartment.

A moment she just stood there, staring at the wooden obstacle. Hopefully the last physical one that stood in her way to happiness. She shortly considered knocking but decided against it. Looking into both directions to make sure nobody watched her she picked the lock.

Her heart fell when the door opened and nothing but darkness and silence greeted her. Tears welled up in her eyes. That was not what she had expected. But then again, _what had she expected? _Tony sitting on his couch, watching a movie and sipping a beer, just waiting for her to show up?

Sadly she shook her head as she stood in Tony's dark living room and a silent tear escaped and ran down her cheek. Furiously she wiped it away, angry at herself that she had allowed herself to hope that she could finally get her chance to be happy with the one man that had always had her back. The one man she thought who loved her unconditionally and no matter what.

Maybe she was wrong.

Maybe it just wasn't meant to be.

She was defeated and tired by the time she reached her own apartment. She wanted nothing but crawl into bed, hide beneath her blankets and hope that everything had just been a bad dream. She just wanted this all go away.

**TIVA**

Tony was sure he just saw Ziva's messy ponytail disappearing behind the closing elevator doors just as he entered her apartment building. He sprinted towards the lift but was to slow, it was already shut.

"Dammit" he cursed, then turned and jumped up the stairs. He hoped he would catch her on her floor before she entered her apartment. In no time he had reached the sixth floor, just as Ziva was about to open the door.

Heavily breathing he just stood there, staring at her defeated looking form. And as if she had felt his eyes on her she slowly turned her head and in an instant her eyes locked with his.

Ziva blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming. There he was, in her building, staring at her. She turned around and even if she tried, she wouldn't have been able to stop her legs from slowly moving towards him. She was powerless against that connection that didn't allow them having a personal space when they were around each other.

Still out of breath Tony also made his way towards her. Slow at first, then faster and faster and suddenly they were opposing each other, their bodies merely inches away from touching but still close enough to feel the heat radiating off each.

They searched each others eyes both afraid yet hopeful of what they would read in them. This was new for both of them. They knew that their next steps would determine what they were going to be... or not going to be. Ziva felt her heart beating rapidly against her chest, she felt hot, and every inch of her body ached to just reach up and kiss him. But she didn't dare to. She was too afraid of the repercussions of her actions. It would be bad if he rejected her, pretty bad. But could she handle it if everything turned out actually the way she hoped it would?

Tony sensed her insecurities. Insecurities he felt himself. But the events of the last two days, and the fate Yoxall had to live with for the rest of his life had taught him one thing: Life is too short to have insecurities. You need to act on the things you want. And the things you are sure of. And if Anthony DiNozzo Jr. was sure of one thing, it was that he wanted a future with Ziva David. The beautiful, dangerous, ninja-like assassin that had gotten under his skin and never left ever again.

"Tony..." she breathed when his gaze became even more intense with nothing but love and desire reflected in it.

"Shhh" he interrupted her immediately and reached up to push a strand of hair out of her face. Then he cupped her cheek with his hand and Ziva unconsciously leaned into his touch and her eyes fluttered shut. How much she had missed his touch.

And then he kissed her.

She had never been kissed so gentle and lovingly. It was featherlight and it left her lips and her body tingle and aching for more. When he pulled back her eyes drifted open and again he was staring down into her eyes.

"We should go inside" he whispered, his hand still firmly in place.

She nodded and forced herself to move. Everything felt like a dream, her head was spinning and she felt like the world was set on fire.

Together they entered her apartment, and the second the door fell shut behind them Tony had Ziva pinned up against it with his whole body and attacked her mouth in a hungry, passionate kiss. With every fiber of his being he wanted to show her how much she meant to him and how much he wanted her. Ziva was only surprised for a millisecond by his attack before she reciprocated the kiss in the same manner, pouring all of her emotions into it.

His hands started roaming over her body, wanting to feel every inch of her, and he surprised her once again when his hands landed on her butt and he pulled her hard against him and made her feel just how much he wanted her. He felt her smile against his lips and curious he pulled away, though their noses still nearly touched.

"What?" he asked, his voice rough and much deeper than usual.

Ziva looked up into his eyes, dark green pools of lust staring back at her own now almost black ones filled with nothing but desire. But instead of answering her hand found its way up to the knot of his tie and pulled him back down to her lips, so hard that their teeth crashed but neither cared. She began pushing him towards her couch, with their bodies still pressed against each other, her intention evident, as she started undoing his tie and pushing his jacket down his shoulders and then arms. Both objects landed carelessly on the floor.

But Tony had other things in mind and before she knew it he had her scooped up, one arm under her knees, the other to support her back. She flashed a surprised yet heated look at him before adjusting to her new position and slung her arms around his neck. For a moment they just stood there, in the still dark living room, lit by nothing other than the moon shining directly onto their faces, and getting lost in each others eyes.

Without breaking eye contact Tony walked towards her bedroom and once there he ever so gently laid her down on the bed, as if she could break any minute. He stood next to the bed, bent over her, with his hands right and left next to her shoulders to support himself, as he continued to stare into her eyes.

His heart pounded rapidly and a lump formed in his throat and stomach as the truth hit him like a train.

"I..." he started but suddenly stopped himself. Was he really ready to say those _three words_ just yet?

"Tony..." Ziva breathed, taking aback by his intense gaze and the protectiveness and possessiveness of his position.

"God, you're so beautiful" he whispered huskily and with his thumb pushed a curl out of her forehead. By the look in his eyes she could tell that he was dead serious and she couldn't help but believe him. But before she had a chance to respond he crawled on top of her, leaned down and kissed her again, slowly this time, passionately. He wanted to savor every moment with her, wanted to taste her, memorize everything about her. Ziva gladly obliged to his need and responded with an equally soft and tender kiss of her own.

Finally, when the lack of oxygen became an issue they pulled back, panting heavily, but never leaving each others eyes.

_The eyes._

It had always been _their thing_. Tony and Ziva had always been able to communicate just by looking into each others eyes. They had always known what the other thought, had always sensed the others' needs. They had always found it hard to tear their eyes away from each other.

This time, in the dark bedroom, lit up by the moon's light, this time was no different. They didn't need words. They just needed each other. And what they found in each others eyes, again, under cover of night, assured both of them that this could finally be right. That this could be the beginning of their _forever._

Ziva leaned in for a featherlight, loving, gentle kiss and as quickly as it began, as quickly she pulled away. Her heart raced nervously at what she was about to say, but at the same time she had never been so sure about something.

_I never told her._

Those words were burnt into her mind forever. Those words always would remind her that life was too short to wait for the things you want. And right now she wanted just one thing: _Tony DiNozzo._ She reached up to touch his face and with a deep breath she prepared for the only thing to do that made sense.

"I love you" she whispered with a smile, and her heart pounded heavily at the excitement of finally having said those words.

Tony had hoped to, but he never had expected to hear these words. _Tonight_. But Ziva had said them. She had told him she loved him and that caused a thousand butterflies in his stomach to arouse. A big grin appeared on his face and his eyes sparkled with happiness as he pulled her in for another short yet passionate kiss.

"I love you, Ziva David" he said with a deep and husky voice. "I have for a long time."

"I know" she nodded, her grin matching his. "Me too." She added whispering.

For a minute they just grinned at each other like lovesick teenagers but neither cared. They had finally admitted their feelings to each other and that let them be on cloud nine.

A million thoughts raced through Ziva's head. What would be next? Would they tell the others? How would Gibbs react? What did that mean for their relationship? They had a lot to talk about, but it could wait. Right now she just wanted to savor their new found happiness and she just wanted to get lost in the sensations Tony provided for her.

Her eyes focused back on Tony and her smile grew only bigger. "I love you" she repeated softly.

On cue Tony crashed his lips to hers. Only breaking their kisses when necessary they took their time unclothing each other, hands roaming over every new exposed inch of skin. They knew each others bodies by heart after months of sleeping together. But this, _this_ was like a whole new experience for both of them. It was like they were learning each others bodies all over again.

They both moaned in relief and pleasure when he finally entered her. This was what they had been waiting for the last two days. Though it wasn't just about the sex and letting off some steam together anymore. Now it was about having the other as close as possible, the security, the protection, _the love_ the other provided. Their eyes kept locked the entire time and when they finally climaxed together after the most gentle, _the most meaningful_ love making they felt like fireworks exploded in and around them. It made them realize just how deep their feelings for each other really went.

Night's cover had given them the chance to develop those feelings that had always been rooted deeply inside them. It had made them realize that they could be and eventually wanted to be more then just partners and that had sex under cover of night. They had never talked about it, always pretending that nothing ever happened. For the sake of their secret, but for their own sake as well. They only ever wanted to protect their hearts, afraid of what would happen when they gave it away.

But now that they had, it still was scary, but with the trust they put into each other they knew they would make it.

Together they would make it.


End file.
